Thanks for visiting Michigansforeclosures.com. We know its a tough economy out there right now and and it can be even tougher when you're a Michigan homeowner faced with foreclosure. Our goal is to provide a simple easy to use site loaded with foreclosure information, specific to Michigan, that will help those facing foreclosure with all the challenges and uncertainties that come with it. On the site you will find information of government housing counseling, tips on how to avoid foreclosure, information on alternatives to foreclosure, and tons of other helpful info on home foreclosure in Michigan. We hope it provides the first step to settle your foreclosure issues.
While we know there are a lot of people looking for foreclosure help, we also realize that there are people looking for information on how to buy foreclosed, bank owned, and short sale properties and we are here to help. In the coming weeks we are planning on providing you with comprehensive listings of foreclosed properties, resources on housing info and other helpful information and tips to help you successfully buy foreclosed properties in Michigan.
**While we have done a lot of work to make sure this information is relevant and helpful, we by no means intend to provide or replace legal counsel regarding foreclosure issues.**
Fed team: Mortgage fraud plagues area
-Task force warns industry reps, community of scams targeting strapped homeowners
Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News
Metro Detroit is a hotbed of mortgage scams with a rising number of crooks preying on homeowners desperate to avoid foreclosures, representatives of a federal Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, an ad-hoc group of law agencies, said Friday.
The task force met with community groups, real estate agents, banking officials and law enforcement agencies in Detroit and launched a website called www.preventloanscams.org to help consumers identify and report scams.
"This was a freight train coming right at us," said Andrew Arena, FBI special agent in charge.
The region has 60 cases of fraudulent mortgage behavior. The average scam nabs about $3,000 from a homebuyer.
In November, the Obama administration put together a new federal task force after deciding the number and complexity of investigations linked to the economic crisis require a more coordinated response from government agencies. It targets fraud related to mortgage lending and modification, securities law, stimulus spending and the government's bailout of the financial industry.
The task force's creation comes as federal and state authorities investigate a wide array of potential wrongdoing linked to the financial crisis.
Some cases of scams have already been pursued and prosecuted, said Barbara McQuade, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
And the danger of more people losing their homes in Metro Detroit is rising significantly, said Kenneth Donohue, inspector general for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
One out of 10 Metro Detroiters with a Federal Housing Administration-backed loan are 90 days or more behind in their mortgage. The default rate in Metro Detroit increased 700 percent in 2009 compared with 2008, Donohue said.
This year, about 160,000 homeowners are behind on their mortgages, he said.
FROM THE DETROIT NEWS: http://tinyurl.com/3y4elun
Last Updated on Monday, 26 April 2010 06:15
Michigan foreclosure rate is nation's sixth highest
But Jan.-March stats show small gains over last part of 2008
Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News
One in every 136 Michigan housing units received a foreclosure filing during the first three months of 2009 -- a bleaker rate than the first quarter of 2008.
And as dismal as the January-March figure sounds -- and it was a 12 percent increase from the same period last year -- it was actually a slight improvement from the last three months of 2008.
RealtyTrac reported Wednesday that Michigan recorded the sixth highest foreclosure rate, per total state households. Nevada topped the grim list, followed by Arizona and California. In Nevada, one in every 27 housing units was hit by a foreclosure filing.
Nationwide, one in every 159 homes received a foreclosure filing during the first three months of this year -- the highest national total since RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, began issuing its periodic report in January 2005.
RealtyTrac's report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: default, default notice and lis pendens (a legal notice, filed by the lender, that starts the foreclosure); notice of trustee or foreclosure sale; and properties that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank.
"In the month of March, we saw a record level of foreclosure activity; the number of households that received a foreclosure filing was more than 12 percent higher than the next highest month on record. Since much of this activity was in new foreclosure actions, it suggests that many lenders and servicers were holding off on executing foreclosures due to industry moratoria and legislative delays," said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
"It's also likely that the drop in (bank repossessions) can be attributed to these processing delays, rather than to any of the foreclosure prevention programs currently in place. It's very likely that we'll see the number of (repossessions) increase again, now that most of the moratoria have been lifted."
There is a positive note, Saccacio said. Housing demand is up in some of the harder-hit areas, particularly on bank-owned properties that first time homebuyers and investors see as bargain.
But, he added, "It's unlikely that this increased demand will be enough to offset the growing number of foreclosures in the pipeline, accelerated by rising unemployment rates."
Michigan recorded 33,184 foreclosure filings between January and March. That's a 1.9-percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2008. .
During the first quarter of 2009, Metro Detroit's rate declined 6 percent compared with the same period a year ago. In Metro Detroit, one in every 275 housing units faces foreclosure.
New housing construction in Southeast Michigan remains at a standstill, according to Housing Consultants Inc. in Clarkston. The nine-county area saw an 83.1 percent decline in new building permits, compared to the first months of 2008.
From The Detroit News: But, he added, "It's unlikely that this increased demand will be enough to offset the growing number of foreclosures in the pipeline, accelerated by rising unemployment rates."
Michigan recorded 33,184 foreclosure filings between January and March. That's a 1.9-percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2008. .
During the first quarter of 2009, Metro Detroit's rate declined 6 percent compared with the same period a year ago. In Metro Detroit, one in every 275 housing units faces foreclosure.
New housing construction in Southeast Michigan remains at a standstill, according to Housing Consultants Inc. in Clarkston. The nine-county area saw an 83.1 percent decline in new building permits, compared to the first months of 2008.
